Turkey’s disaster management agency AFAD urged residents of Hatay province to stay away from the coast, warning that there was a risk of sea levels rising after two strong earthquakes, 6.4 and 5.8 degrees, that occurred today centered on the community of Defne, near Antakya and the town of Samandag respectively.
Its vice-president spoke of at least eight injured from today’s earthquakes Turkey Fuat Oktai, arguing that there is no reason to worry about sea level rise.
The first earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.4, occurred at 19:04 (local time) and was felt a great distance away. Three minutes later it was followed by a 5.8-magnitude tremor, according to AFAD, which expressed the fear that sea levels could rise “up to 50 cm”.
AFP correspondents said the tremors were also felt in Aleppo, northwest Syria, where panicked residents rushed out of their homes into the street. A photojournalist said he saw walls of buildings damaged by the large earthquake on February 6 falling.
In Antakia, the earthquake also caused panic among residents. In a square, Ali Mazloum, an 18-year-old Syrian, said he was with AFAD rescuers searching for the bodies of his relatives when the quake struck. “It took us by surprise, we didn’t know what to do. We grabbed each other and right in front of us the walls started to crumble. We had the impression that the earth would open in the middle and swallow us.”
A short distance away, a bulldozer was trying to remove rubble from a boulevard. “That one over there just fell,” said one rescuer, pointing to what was left of a building.
Ali Mazloum, who has lived in Antakia for 12 years, is still searching for the body of his sister and her family. Turkish authorities have halted rescue operations in all other provinces except Kahramanmaras and Hatay, after hopes of finding survivors 14 days after the quake have faded.
Source: News Beast
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